Laura Suter is AJ Bell's Director of Personal Finance. She joined the company in 2018 and is the go-to spokesperson on all things personal finance - from cash savings rates to saving for children and how to invest for the first time. Laura has a degree in Journalism Studies from the University of Sheffield.
Since joining the company, Laura has co-founded AJ Bell’s Money Matters campaign, which aims to help more women start their investing journey and close the gender investment gap. She writes articles for the campaign and co-hosts the Money Matters podcast.
Laura also co-hosts AJ Bell's weekly Money & Markets podcast, giving an update on all the investing and personal finance news of the week. She's regularly quoted in the national and trade press, as well as appearing on TV and radio. She speaks and presents at live events, ranging from AJ Bell roadshows to the company’s flagship investment conference, Investival, and Money Matters events.
Laura is a multi-award winning former financial journalist, having worked in this role for 10 years before joining AJ Bell. She was previously at the Daily Telegraph as an Investment Editor. During her time at the Telegraph, she was crowned the Headlinemoney Investment Journalist of the Year. She also worked for financial adviser publications Money Marketing and Money Management, as well as an investment publication in New York focusing on the hedge fund and private equity world.
19 August 2020
Shock leap in inflationDespite the Bank of England predicting inflation would fall to near zero this year as a result of Covid-19, the rate has leapt this summer from 0.6% in June to 1% in July. Rising fuel prices, following the oil price slump earlier this year, have helped to push prices up.
What’s more, the lack of summer sales on the high street mean that clothing...
12 August 2020
UK falls into deepest ever recessionNews that the UK has officially fallen into recession doesn’t come as a surprise, but the scale of the retraction in the economy means it’s the largest UK recession ever . The UK economy shrank by 20.4% in the second quarter as the country fell into lockdown and businesses shut their doors.
The figure for June is key, as we all knew that lockdown...
7 August 2020
Bargain hunting investors still avoiding UK equity fundsInvestors returned to markets in force in the second quarter of the year, on the hunt for bargains following market falls earlier this year, according to the latest figures from the Investment Association. A total of £11.2bn was invested in funds in the three months to the end of June, helping to counteract some of the mass outflows seen in March...
24 July 2020
Five tips for first-time investors spooked by the market crashMore than a quarter of young people have been spooked by this year’s market falls and put off investing altogether, our research shows*. The market volatility this year has created an age divide in how investors have reacted, with older savers being more likely to be unaffected by the crisis or deciding to invest more, while younger people have...
21 July 2020
Tax take rises as nation weans itself off lockdown and Government supportIn the past three months the Government has borrowed more than double its entire borrowing for last year, with June marking the third highest month on record for borrowing. The cost of supporting the economy and businesses through the Covid-19 crisis in June came in at £35.5bn, five times the level seen last June.
However, at least the amount of...
20 July 2020
FCA to be given power to regulate cryptocurrenciesAfter a surge in cryptocurrency buying in the past year, the Government has decided to take action and proposed that the FCA be given powers to regulate adverts and promotions in the cryptocurrency market. The FCA has previously said that its hands were tied in some of its work on cryptocurrencies as it didn’t have the power to regulate much of the...
15 July 2020
First uptick in inflation since lockdownInflation edged upwards slightly in June – the first increase this year – with CPI rising from 0.5% to 0.6% as lockdown eased and the usual seasonal sales of items went out the window. Toys and games, clothing and some pharmacy items all served to push up prices in the month.
Clothing prices pushed up inflation, as they would usually follow a...
14 July 2020
M&G Property Portfolio enters eighth month of suspensionInvestors in the M&G Property Portfolio will have to wait at least another month before they can get their hands on their money, with the fund’s suspension extended for another 28 days. Investors have endured more than seven months of suspension so far and it now feels likely that the extension could continue until the end of the year.
This update...
26 June 2020
Six months of market mayhem – the best and worst performing funds of the yearThe past six months has been a period most investors will never forget – but many would dearly like to. Markets have been on a wild ride, with the FTSE 100 index hitting a high of 7,675 in January before plummeting to a low of just under 5,000 in March.
Investors in UK markets are still sitting on heavy losses as we near the six-month marker in...
17 June 2020
Inflation falls as lockdown bitesConsumption practically ground to a halt in May, with large swathes of the country shut down due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Another drop in inflation was an inevitable consequence and the fall to 0.5% takes CPI inflation to its lowest level for four years and is a stark contrast to the 2% inflation we were seeing this time last year.
A further fall...
